We executed the strategy ahead of the finish line…Hangzhou (ANTARA) - The Indonesian dragon boat team pulled off a narrow win over China in the men's 1,000-meter race at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Friday thanks to a clever strategy and some patience.
At the Wenzhou Dragon Boat Center, athlete Andri Agus Mulyana and his team cleverly held back before breaking into full strokes in the final stage to finish the long-distance race with a record time of 4:31.135.
After crossing the 250m point, Indonesia briefly fell behind to the 5th place before pushing forward to the 2nd position, trailing China, which had been leading the race.
In the last 500m, Indonesia caught up with the home team. The final strokes of the Indonesian rowers carried their dragon boat across the finish line 0.047 seconds earlier than China.
The Chinese team had to accept a narrow defeat and settle for silver, while Myanmar took the bronze.
"Our strategy in the race was we did not want to be provoked at the beginning because our rival China was certainly very strong. They tried to test us, but we remained calm," athlete Anwar Tarra told ANTARA after the race.
He informed that the team drew up the strategy based on their coach's instructions. "We executed the strategy ahead of the finish line, and thank God, we were able to beat China," he said.
He also lauded the collaboration between the coach, the board of the Indonesian rowing sports, and the team.
Tarra said that the men's dragon boat team became more motivated after meeting Indonesian Rowing Sports Association (PODSI) chairperson Basuki Hadimuljono on Thursday night.
"That gave us strong motivational support," he remarked.
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Translator: Aditya W, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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